Greenpeace urges palm oil industry to follow suit
Medan, Indonesia, 14 November 2013 – ‘No Deforestation’ commitments from Unilever and Italian chocolate company Ferrero, as well as pledges from progressive palm oil producers to cut forest destruction and human rights violations from their supply chains, represent a model for the rest of the industry to follow, said Greenpeace International at the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) General Assembly.
“There is now a potential supply chain solution, bridging the gap between responsible palm oil producer and consumer companies committed to ending forest destruction. While No Deforestation commitments are welcome, companies such as Unilever must demonstrate how they intend to go beyond the RSPO to break their links with forest destruction. They must demand that known forest destroyers like Wilmar International are not laundering dirty palm oil into our products,” said Areeba Hamid, forest campaigner at Greenpeace International.
The business case for responsible palm oil has been strengthened with the launch of the Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG), which brings together progressive palm oil producers and NGOs, Including Greenpeace, RAN and WWF. The POIG builds on the RSPO’s certification scheme with additional requirements to ensure that there is a supply of palm oil free from forest destruction and exploitation.
Greenpeace ‘tigers’ targeted the Jakarta offices of Wilmar International today, which was linked last month in a Greenpeace International report to gross acts of forest destruction. As the largest palm oil trader in the world, Wilmar International, has still not committed to cleaning up its supply chain and continues to launder ‘dirty’ palm oil onto the global market.
“We are laying out a ‘tiger carpet’ to remind Wilmar that it must stop trampling over Sumatran tiger habitat and commit to ending its role in forest destruction. As the largest palm oil trader in the world, Wilmar has the power to transform the industry and save Indonesia’s last forests. Protect or destroy, they need to make a choice,” said Hamid.
Palm oil players take steps beyond RSPO – Greenpeace
ByThe Independent
November 15, 2013